pokeberry

photograph by kristen bach

treehouse

I recently had the privilege of staying in this amazing treehouse with some friends outside of chattanooga, tn. there was a lot of wine, food, and nature time.

photographs and words by kristin karch

river grass shapes

photograph by kristen bach

begonias & zinnias

photographs by rinne allen

pokeberry

photo by kristen bach

making hot sauce

over the past few weeks i have been patiently watching garden's jalepeno peppers turn red.     this weekend i picked them all and decided to make some hot sauce.  while researching all of the different varieties and methods to making hot sauce i became a little overwhelmed , obsessed and wished i had more peppers!  i ended up making this fermented sriracha sauce but came up with a wish list for the next year's pepper bounty.

next year i will be planting more peppers so i can try out these recipes:

lacto-fermented hot sauce
master hot sauce
chile vinegar sauce

photos by kristen bach

desert clouds

photograph by rinne allen

prayer chapel

on the grounds of the old presbyterian church on edisto island, there is a little prayer chapel under an immense oak. there are two benches inside and a little place to write a prayer request and thumb tack it to a bulletin board. the air is hot and still. the light is beautiful

photographs and words by rebecca wood

mimosa watertower

photograph by kristin karch

gas station

this place is a mindblower, down in olar, sc. wonderful bones. so many diebenkorn-esque shots from here. and the bathroom is a whole other blog. . .

photographs by rebecca wood

queen anne's lace

photograph by rebecca wood

carpenter gothic

i always pass by this classic carpenter gothic style church when i'm on the way to edisto. it was built in 1856.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

gate and field

photograph by rinne allen

seed saving

photographs by rinne allen

campground trees

photo by kristen bach

grilled asparagus with tomato jam

kids start going back to school this week.  i always feel like the last 2 weeks of summer is about cramming all of the dinners, projects, and trips that didn't happen throughout the summer. 

we had a little dinner party and invited some kids and friends over for a feast.  we grilled some salmon and asparagus and made some pesto with basil from the garden.  a wonderful celebration of summer with friends.

tomato jam
serve over 2 bunches of asparagus or green beans, grilled
tomato jam ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil, more if needed
1 small sweet onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 1/2 pint of garden fresh tomatoes, diced or halved if using cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp maple syrup
s & p
directions
-on medium heat slowly cook the onion for 10 minutes or so
-add garlic clove
-add the tomatoes
-turn up to high heat and stir tomatoes until tomatoes cook down.  add some water if you need more liquid
-once the tomatoes have finished cooking down, add syrup and salt and pepper to taste.  
-spoon over your grilled asparagus or green beans
-enjoy!

photo and recipe by kristen bach

butterflies

photograph by rinne allen

southern porches

in the pre- air conditioned age, every southern home had a porch. when the heat built up too much in the house ( which it did ), you retreated to the porch for a cold glass of tea and, hopefully a breeze. the porch offered a respite from the heat indoors and out. it functioned as a place of leisure, but also as an outdoor workspace to shell peas and shuck corn. utilizing the front porch increased visitation between neighbors and passers by, and served as a pleasant place to entertain company.

here's some of the southern porches in my neighborhood -

photographs and words by rebecca wood

beach bonfire

photograph by rinne allen

red painted store

if you're ever heading down hiway 64 from augusta to edisto, stop in olar, sc. and take a look. lots of great spaces to inspire. maybe we need to move down there and start a commune. this one was killing me with its' red painted brick and faded trim.

photographs and words by rebecca wood